A leading road accident expert told a legal seminar of serious injury lawyers that 70 per cent of cases he now sees have CCTV or dash cam footage of the incident.

Peter Sorton, a member of the Institute of Road Traffic Accident Investigators, was speaking in Birmingham at a seminar hosted by No5 Barristers’ Chambers, which also included talks by two leading medical experts, consultant neurologist Mr Nin Bajaj and consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon Mr Badri Narayan, along with No5 counsel.

More than 70 delegates attended the Two Wheel Seminar which focused on issues arising when litigating serious and catastrophic cycle and motorcycle accidents. The event was hosted by Paul Bleasdale QC, head of No5’s Personal Injury group.

The seminar, which was held at The Clayton Hotel in the city centre, included talks which looked at the key liability and contributory negligence issues for cyclists and motorcyclists, the medicolegal aspects of traumatic brain injury and trauma and orthopaedic injuries commonly sustained.

Mr Sorton examined common scenarios for accidents involving pedal cycles and motorcycles and discussed how dash cam footage was now of such a high quality that there was little distortion in its representation of an accident, showing the benefit of video analysis.

Mr Nin Bajaj, a consultant neurologist, looked at aspects of traumatic brain injury and examined how they are diagnosed and classified. He also looked closely at the results a CT scan can provide, compared with the results of an MRI.

Mr Badri Narayan, a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, spoke about the spectrum of high-energy fractures and soft tissue injuries, including compartment syndrome suffered by two-wheel drivers, examining outcome and prognosis. Legal experts were also taken through the complications of trauma management, including non-union, malunion, infection and limb reconstruction.

Barristers Mark Radburn and Paul Evans gave case study presentations during the afternoon seminar, including a look at practical liability and medical issues arising in two-wheel accidents.

Paul Bleasdale QC said: “The strength of the seminar meant that it was fully booked, and people travelled from far and wide to attend, even from Southampton.

“It was extremely informative, providing a real depth of knowledge, and we are extremely grateful to our guest speakers for sharing their expertise in this field with us.”

The talks were aimed at practitioners with experience of conducting high-value Multi-Track cycle and motorcycle claims.

Paul Bleasdale QC, Mark Radburn and Paul Evans are all members of the Serious Injury Team at No5 Barristers’ Chambers.

To read their profiles, visit:

https://www.no5.com/people/barristers/paul-bleasdale-qc/

https://www.no5.com/people/barristers/mark-radburn/

https://www.no5.com/people/barristers/paul-evans/